Klaus Weber · DTM-Korrespondent
Bastian Buus will drive Land-Motorsport's Porsche number 29 in New England Patriots colors at the season finale in Hockenheim. The DTM is bringing its partnership with the NFL team to the track for the first time.
Bastian Buus will start the DTM season finale at Hockenheim from October 9–11 in a Porsche 911 GT3 R featuring the livery of the New England Patriots. Land-Motorsport announced the news on October 5. The Dane will pilot number 29, with the special design limited to this weekend only.
A Partnership Between DTM and NFL
The Patriots have been a strategic partner of the DTM for roughly a year. With the Land Porsche, the collaboration will be visible on track at the finale for the first time. The car carries the team colors red and navy blue, along with multiple logos of the six-time Super Bowl champion.
The partnership began in November 2025. Ahead of the first regular NFL season game at Berlin's Olympic Stadium, the DTM hosted a "Motorsport Meets American Football Day" at the Lausitzring. DTM Champion Ayhancan Güven and Tom Kalender met former NFL players Sebastian Vollmer and Markus Kuhn, as well as three-time Super Bowl winner Lonie Paxton. This season, the Patriots have already been represented in the DTM fan zone at the Norisring.
The timing of the Hockenheim appearance is no coincidence. On November 15, the Patriots will play against the Detroit Lions at Munich's Allianz Arena, with the finale part of the "Road to Munich" campaign. Alex Foster, Senior Manager International Business for the Patriots, said: "The race in Hockenheim is an important stop for us on our way to Munich." In the fan zone, the Patriots will be present with a quarterback challenge, a photo booth, mascot Pat Patriot, and a cornhole area featuring turf from Gillette Stadium.
For team principal Christian Land, it's about reach. "The Patriots are one of the most popular NFL teams in Germany and bring enormous visibility with them," he said. Together, they aim to expand the reach of both sports.
Buus Arrives at Hockenheim on the Back of Two Major Victories
The 23-year-old from Kolding was admitted to the Porsche Junior program in 2023 and won the Porsche Supercup that same year. The 2026 season has been his most successful to date. In June, he won the 24 Hours of Spa with Ricardo Feller and Thomas Preining in the Lionspeed Porsche, widely considered the world's largest GT3 race. On October 3, he secured the title in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup alongside Feller in Barcelona with races still to come.
The Sporting Landscape
Buus is contesting his first DTM season in 2026. Heading into the finale, he sits 16th in the drivers' championship with 50 points, while Land-Motorsport is 11th in the teams' standings with the same point total. Buus claimed two tenth-place finishes at the Nürburgring, led laps at the Sachsenring, and finished in the top ten again. He's not fighting for the title; for him and the team, Hockenheim is about collecting points and closing the season on a positive note.
There's still a connection to the title fight. Thomas Preining, remarkably one of his fellow Spa victory drivers, leads the drivers' championship in his Manthey Porsche. The leader sits on 197 points with a 23-point advantage over Maro Engel. Up to 56 points are available in Hockenheim, meaning six drivers mathematically still have a chance at the title. The standings are provisional due to a pending appeal regarding the Oschersleben race. The decision will come down to two races: Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and Sunday at 4:30 p.m.
